The Clinging — 初九

The Line

Interpretation

It is early morning. Work is beginning. After the soul has been shut off from the outer world in sleep, the relations to the world now begin again. The traces of impressions run crisscross. Hurried busyness prevails. Important in this is to preserve inner collectedness, not to let oneself be carried away by the bustle of life. If one is earnest and collected, one attains the necessary clarity for coming to terms with the numerous impressions that storm in upon one. Precisely at the beginning is such collected earnestness particularly important; for the beginning contains the seeds of all that follows.